Benefits Extended For Fallen Arizona Officers’ Families

A recent change by Glendale, Ariz. officials will extend the city’s discounted health insurance benefits for the families of police officers killed in the line of duty.

Jim Brown, the city’s interim human-resources director, told The Arizona Republic that the plight of Officer Brad Jones’ family prompted him to ask a city official to let survivors have access to the city’s plans.

Jones’ family was about to lose its insurance through the city one year after he was fatally shot while helping a probation officer make an arrest in October 2011.

The Jones family had been receiving free health insurance through the city under a law that requires employers to pay for such benefits for a year after a law-enforcement officer is killed while on duty.